The invention is directed to an improved two-piece cleat assembly for use on athletic shoes, and in particular, golf shoes. Athletic shoes having soles and heels with protruding cleats have long been used by athletes to enhance the traction and position stabilization of the feet of the user. From early years, the athletic shoe cleats were configured as metal spikes, and eventually "soft spikes" (e.g., made of synthetic materials, such as hard nylons and plastic), that project downwardly from the soles of their shoes and into the soil or turf of the field of play. The spiked cleat is presently used in athletic shoes for sports as wide ranging as football, baseball, soccer and golf. Because the metal and synthetic spikes will wear down, and sometimes break, the spiked cleats were eventually incorporated as part of a replaceable cleat system which included a plurality of threaded metal screw bosses or sleeves embedded into the sole and/or heel of the shoe and into which the spikes, outfitted with a threaded stem, were threaded.
The traditional spiked cleats fulfilled the intended purpose of aiding in traction and position stabilization of the feet during the stationary swinging efforts of golf, for example, as well as during encounters of opposition or in instances where enhancement of forward momentum was desirable. Eventually, with the aid of studies and research, it was determined that, while spiked cleats provide aggressive traction for sports such as football and baseball, not all sports require such radical traction. Furthermore, the value of the spiked cleat is being questioned even in such aggressive sports, where knee and other injuries are sometimes attributed to the athlete making rapid and abrupt direction changes, yet the overly aggressive traction of the typical elongated cleats is traditionally deemed necessary for such sports. Moreover, several concerns have developed in regard to the collateral damage to non-sport surfaces from players wearing spiked shoes and walking thereupon.
One sport, where the concern seems to have shifted to the walking surface, rather than physical damage to the user, is golf. In this sport of traditionally metal, spiked cleats, the tendency of metal spiked cleats to pit and deface surfaces, such as concrete walks, wooden floors, and carpet is well-known. Even on the golf course, inadvertent scuffing by a golfer dragging his or her feet can cause severe damage to the "greens." Golf courses throughout the United States, in increasing numbers, are banning metal spikes in favor of "soft spikes" in an attempt to minimize the aforementioned damages caused by the metal spikes.
In addition to problems associated with injuries and damage to surrounding properties, the traditional screw-in type replacement cleat shoe system has other problems associated with the use of metal screw bosses that are embedded in shoe soles and heels for receiving cleats. One significant problem is that the bosses tend to oxidize or rust over time because they are continuously exposed to moisture during wear. This makes it very difficult in some instances, due to metal seizing, to remove an old cleat and replace it with a new cleat and, in extreme cases, can render the boss unusable.
Presently, in many sports, including golf, alternatives to the spiked cleat (both metal and synthetic) are available. Such alternatives include the elimination of spiked cleats of any kind and replacing cleated soles and heels with soft, raised treads. However, as the treads wear to the point of lost traction, the shoes "wear out" and become useless--an expensive alternative to spiked cleats. Other alternatives have been to retain the cleat concept on the shoe while eliminating the undesirable extending rigid "spike". One example of such is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,129. Furthermore, it is not unknown in the art to at least provide a synthetic screw boss in athletic shoes, an example of which being U.S. Pat. No. 4,299,038.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,366 represents another approach to a removably attachable cleat including a conventional metal spike member having a stem portion at one end, a traction engaging spike axially aligned with the stem at the other end, and an intermediate flanged portion. It is disclosed therein that a plastic skirt is overmolded about the flanged portion to form a unitary skirt and flange.
In spite of prior art efforts, there remain challenges and problems for which improvements are useful; and, the present invention is intended to address some of those challenges and problems with the development of an improved, two-piece, non-metallic "soft cleat".